The Iron Princess (19 page)

Bang, bang, bang
, thundered Rollo’s iron staff.

“Lord Lothair Blienskastel, Baron of Hanseatz.”

Katia’s heart stopped.

Hell’s bells! She closed her eyes, held her breath, and prayed for a merciful God to just take her now.

Katia’s gold head shone as a beacon of light. Lothair focused on her as he entered the murmuring hall, crowded with Tronscar’s citizens.

Relief that she was alive merged with anger. He could look at no one else, register no one else, only stare disoriented at his wife. Finding her, getting her back, had been his only focus. But that was where his plan ended.

“Baron Lothair, you are welcome.” Jarl Magnus approached and crossed his arms, examining him sternly.

“My jarl.” Rikard stepped quickly behind Magnus, speaking over his shoulder. “I advise you to hear my report before speaking with this man.”

“I am not here for a social call, Jarl Magnus,” Lothair interjected before Rikard could continue. “I am here only to collect what was stolen from me and then I will be on my way.”

“Stolen?” The jarl stepped closer. “You accuse my men of stealing from you?” He turned back to Rikard. “Did you take one of his ships for a faster return?” He turned back to Lothair. “I assure you, baron, I am in your debt for the assistance you have given to my daughter. I am eager to reward you many times over for whatever my men have commandeered to see my daughter safely returned.”

“Your men did not steal a ship. They stole my wife.” Lothair clenched his jaw. “I am here for Katia, Jarl Magnus.” Sharp whispers broke out throughout the hall.

“Your wife?” the jarl said with a growl that would give pause to an angry bear.

“Aye, Jarl. My wife.” Lothair pushed his chest out, raised his chin, and prepared for the inevitable blow that was to come.

“Katia!” Magnus roared.

The friherrinna tugged Katia back toward the jarl.

“Katia,” Friherrinna Lida said in a controlled tone, “if you hold this young man in any regard, you best explain before your father soaks my clean floor with his spilt blood.”

“Mama,” Katia whined.

“What claim does this boy have on you?” the jarl asked.

“He is not a boy, Far. He’s my friend and protector. I was going to explain everything; it is just that my head does hurt quite a lot from the news that all of my hard work has been for nothing.” She turned apologetically to Lothair. “Lothair, do you see that man over there? I thought he was an imposter, a spy, but he’s not. His name is Bercik, and he is one of my father’s men. Can you believe it? All this time, my father has known everything of Prince Andrei’s plan. You were right all along and you were forced to wed me all for nothing. I made no difference, served no purpose, nothing.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. To see his little fire-starter broken and defeated didn’t please him in the least, regardless of how incensed he was with her for leaving him. He would prefer her smirks and sass.

“Forced to wed her!” The jarl’s groan seemed to turn into a growl, drawing Lothair’s attention back to the immediate threat.

“Not forced,” Lothair said.

“Yes, forced. If the duke, the count, and Rikard hadn’t burst into my bedchamber that morning, you would never have had to wed me,” she said. Lothair groaned.

“Bedchamber! What morning?” The jarl’s voice rose with every word.

“I knew you were lying.” Rikard shoved Lothair from behind and he stumbled forward.

“You were already out of danger? Rikard was there?” The jarl shoved Rikard out of his way, clearly wanting the first blow.

“Rikard!” Katia cried. “Lothair never lied, I did. This is all my fault. All of it! I put Tosha in danger. I put Lothair and all his friends in danger, I almost got Lothair killed on the road, and I kissed him. None of this is his fault. He was just always there to protect me and get me out of the messes I created and he . . .” The tears were choking out her words.

She sniffled. “He did not want to wed me. He made it clear many times he did not want a wife, and he only let me kiss him, Far, I swear. He would never even take his tunic off around me when we were alone, and you must release him from the marriage contract. He only had the priest write it to protect my name and reputation from trouble. He said it was only out of fear for his own neck, but I know him well enough to know that is not true. He did it for me, to protect me.” She completely lost it after that.

Lothair wrapped her in his arms. She buried her face into his chest.

“
Shh
, Kat.” He stroked her hair. “Say whatever you need to say, but stop with the damnable weeping. Your crying terrifies the tar out of everyone.”

“I told you not to worry,” Katia said. “I will have the contract torn up and you can go back to Lubeck and do whatever it is you do there. I have wasted enough of your time. You should go before the ice closes the fjord and you are stuck here for the winter.”

“Hold your tongue, devil-child, before you get me tossed out of Tronscar on my ear. “

Katia let out an annoyed gasp and stopped her crying. Her temper was, without fail, the magic solution to her tears. He stole a quick sniff of her hair. It still held the scent of the sea and the winter forest. Reluctantly, Lothair returned his attention to the jarl.

***

Lida watched the handsome young man soothe her daughter. She studied his gentle touch and watched as his lips pressed tenderly into her daughter’s hair. This young warrior loved Katia, and what’s more, could stand up to her. Lida’s heart was about to burst with joy. Not only did she have her daughter safely returned, but she had gained a most deserving son-in-law in the process. God was good. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks and moved forwarding into the nest of angry men.

Lida felt it was time to have her say.

“Baron Lothair,” Lida said, keeping her voice low. “I welcome you to our home, my lord.” She smiled warmly. “I will forever be in your debt for coming to my daughter’s aid. To have traveled so far, it is clear you possess a long-suffering spirit and a patient heart, and for that I am eternally grateful.” Lida stroked Katia’s remaining tears away, and leaned closer to speak in her daughter’s ear. “What was the silly saying your grandmother always liked? ‘
Love is not our choice but our destiny.
’”

“Mama,” Katia whispered. “I have come to think that grandmother may have been confused on a few points.”

“It took you long enough to figure that out.” Lida smiled at the handsome-looking couple. “Baron, you and my husband clearly have much to discuss. I am going to escort your wife to her chamber. She does appear a little worse for the wear.”

Lothair looked at Katia and nodded humbly.

“Thank you, my lord. I will order a hot meal for you so you may retire as well. You both appear in need of a few days of rest.” Lida now turned her attention to her brooding husband, who stood with his arms crossed and his chest puffed out. “Katia, say good night to your far.”

“Rest well, Far,” her daughter said meekly. Magnus’s face relaxed. He bent down and kissed both Lida and Katia on the cheek.

As Lida guided her daughter from the hall, she looked over her shoulder to see Lothair and Magnus staring blankly at each other. The two men would need to find a way to put their differences aside. Lothair was now her son-in-law, and Lida was determined to put her family back together.

***

A hour later, fresh and clean and wearing her favorite wool nightgown, Katia lay in her bed with her mother, buried under a mountain of furs, talking about everything she had missed while away.

Lida told Katia stories of her brothers, of their growing skills and brilliance, as well as the unparalleled mischief that they created. Her mother then told her of what it was like when word of her disappearance reached Tronscar. Apparently, Zander had hidden in his room for days so that no one could see his tears. Eventually, Katia was lulled to sleep as her mother stroked her hair.

Sometime in the deepest, darkest, quietest hours of the night, Katia awoke to the spicy, piney male scent that was Lothair. He must have come into her chamber after her mother left. She stretched and inhaled the wonderful calm imparted by his scent mixed with the familiar feel of her bed.

Katia was home.

“I thought you would never wake,” Lothair said, his voice gravelly. She looked up to see a spark in his eyes, and without warning, her body was taken over by a yearning for him. She wanted him inside her, needed to be joined with him to convince herself his presence in her bed, in her home, was real. If he hated her, he would not have come to Tronscar, so if he was here and this was real, then maybe he would forgive her.

She clamped her lips to his and her body took over, shifting to lie fully on top of him. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and moaned at the sudden surge of pleasure mixed with relief.

His strong hands roamed up her back and into her hair. He pulled her mouth away and kissed behind her ear, sucking and biting down her throat, heading for her breast. Meanwhile, Katia worked to free herself from her long nightgown, bunching it up to her waist. Finally free, she straddled him. She widened her legs to accommodate his size and . . . oh, that was . . . she stopped thinking and just felt him.

Lothair tore her nightgown over her head with a savage groan. His smile was pure joy. She couldn’t remember seeing this expression before, one of such uncorrupted happiness. He grabbed her around the hips, thrusting deeper into her, and she let her head fall back in a moment of climatic perfection.

Later, as she lay there, breathing heavily, neither one of them said a word. They were both afraid to spoil this moment of bliss with the argument that was hanging over their heads.

“Are you hungry?” he whispered. She shook her head no, but her traitor of a stomach let out a loud grumble. He laughed and kissed her forehead.

“Let’s go find something to eat, and then we will come hide back in here for the rest of the day,” he said, his tone lighthearted and carefree.

“But you said that you only came to get me to go home. We must travel before the ice closes the fjord.” She snuggled into his chest, not wishing to ever have to face anyone in Tronscar again. The memory of last night and her total and utter failure to make a difference were too painful to think about just yet.

“The jarl and I came to a compromise last night. He will recognize the contract we wrote in Hanseatz if I would stay for the winter. Now get dressed—I’m starving.”

Katia frowned, feeling more confused than ever.

After they dressed, Lothair tucked her hand under his arm and marched down the stairs. He sent her strange glances all throughout their meal and kept his hand locked around her knee under the table, as if he was afraid she would run off.

Her father approached the table. “Katia. Lothair. I will speak to you in my chamber. Now.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and marched down the corridor that led to his study.

Katia wanted nothing more than to run from the hall and hide in the stables as she would have done as a child, but Lothair dragged her down the corridor to the study.

“Now that you have rested, my wife has granted me my overdue explanation.” He reclined in his fur-padded chair. He was not going to make this easy on Lothair or Katia.

She decided that she best get ahead of the game. “Well, Far, I will—”

“Whatever explanation you seek, Jarl Magnus. I will answer for it,” Lothair said without a smile.

“Your tale holds many inconsistencies. I will hear the truth from beginning to end. I will not have my house ridiculed behind my back.” He turned his attention back to Katia. “Why did Bercik say you died and that Lothair called you his wife? Did the two of you plan on meeting in Bogolyubovo? How long has this been going on behind my back?” Magnus flicked his finger back and forth between them.

“Well, it is really quite a—” she started to answer, but she was interrupted by Lothair.

“Katia and I had met but the one time here in Tronscar. Nothing has been concealed from you, Jarl Magnus. The second time I meet your daughter was in the main hall in Bogolyubovo, being mauled by one of the prince’s officers. I claimed that she was my wife and that she did not speak the language as a means of peacefully removing her to safety. However, I later failed to get to her before she was called to the prince’s chambers, later that same night. To be expelled from Andrei’s chamber, she pretended to be ill by cutting the inside of her mouth and swallowing bird bones. She was then taken to the women’s quarters and I was able to remove her from the palace by bribing a guard and claiming she was my dead wife.”

“Bird bones? You could have choked to death!” Magnus slapped the table so hard a pitcher of water toppled to the ground.

Lothair seemed to agree with her father’s temper tantrum. “Unfortunately we didn’t have time to plan ahead for our escape. I wasted valuable time the first few days finding the correct route to take . . .” Lothair continued on for the next hour, giving her father a detailed account of their entire journey, largely taking the blame for many of Katia’s mistakes.

“When was she injured?” her father asked Lothair. Katia felt invisible.

“A day’s ride outside of Prague, young raiders set upon us. They were after the horses we had taken from Andrei and his men. We had kept the horses to provide us with means to trade along our journey. The bandits were little more than boys, yet one of them wounded Katia before I could get to her. Tosha stitched the wound. I should have insisted on performing the task myself, however, the day’s events had caused a certain amount of—”

“I was furious with him,” Katia finally interrupted. He was speaking to her father as if he was reporting to a military commander. “I would not let him see it. He wouldn’t leave my side to go after Tosha during the attack. She had been taken and we nearly lost her. I had the right to be angry. Just for the record, I fought the knave fair and square, and I did well. Lars agreed with me that Lothair should have gone after Tosha sooner.”

“Lars,” her father snarled, “was only looking out for his wife, not your best interests.”

“Far, I was fine. I have fine skill with a blade, as you well know.”

Her father slammed his fist to the arm of his chair. “I know you make me curse the day I took you into the training yard. Your mother was right, I should never have—”